Jesse Hutch has become known for his roles in made-for-TV rom coms, but admitted in a recent interview his career might have taken a different turn had he been willing to film edgier content.
“God put conviction on my heart,” the Canadian-born actor told Christian Headlines.
Hutch, 42, stars in the new Great American Pure Flix movie, “A Christmas Blessing,” and has had leading roles in other romantic films like, “Love’s Last Resort” and “B&B Merry.”
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The Christian celebrity said one of the reasons he was so keen on filming family-friendly content is the fact that, more often than not, “there are no surprises.”
“My kids can just walk in on [these movies] at any time,” he explained. “And we’re not going to have this crazy, deep conversation about something that we’re not ready for yet.”
Hutch’s hard-and-fast rule against passionate romantic scenes and nudity has cost him some jobs over the years.
“[I]n romantic comedies, there’s a kiss,” he said. “And I have to have that conversation with my wife, with my kids. Obviously, my wife and I have grown together, and we have an understanding of what this is, how we do that, and where our comfort levels are. But my kids — they’re getting older — they’re like, ‘Dad, you are kissing another girl. What’s going on?’ And we’ve had these conversations. So even on that level, you still have to have honest conversations with your loved ones about that.”
When it comes to explicit content, Hutch said he is “not interested in any of that.”
“There’s been a couple of times,” he said, “where I thought, ‘Would my career have gone a different direction?’ Absolutely. Do I regret it? No.”
Hollywood star Neal McDonough has a similar policy against sexual scenes.
In fact, he acknowledged in 2019 his personal conviction against filming sex scenes and nudity cost him a major role in 2010, when he was dropped from the short-lived ABC series, “Scoundrels,” for refusing to perform sex scenes with co-star Virginia Madsen.
“It was a horrible situation for me,” he said at the time. “After that, I couldn’t get a job, because everybody thought I was this religious zealot. I am very religious. I put God and family first, and me second. That’s what I live by. It was hard for a few years.”
Since then, though, McDonough credits standing by his convictions for his successes in acting.
“Almost 20 years, five kids, and just one heck of an awesome life later, to have her as my partner in everything, I’m just the most blessed guy I know,” he said. “That’s why I go to church every day and say ‘thank you’ to God for everything he’s given me. And most importantly, thank you for giving me [my wife], because, without her, I most certainly would not be talking with you right now.”
McDonough, 57, stars in the forthcoming Angel Studios film, “The Shift,” debuting in theaters nationwide Dec. 1. The film, loosely based on the biblical story of Job, chronicles an encounter the lead character has with a mysterious stranger with otherworldly powers, sending the man on a journey to a parallel universe where he fights to get back to the woman he loves.
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